Electric lantern



May 24, 1938. H. o. F;UTT

ELECTRI C LANTERN Original Filed Sept. 5, 1935 2 S t sh t l May 24, 1938. H. o. PUTT 2,118,657

ELECTRIC LANTERN Original Filed Sept. 5, 1935 2 heets-Sheet 2 .3 i I I v E I 21 I 23 K I C V 7,32: 44 36 f 56 v .67 2 55 w; 1 Q4 Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC LANTERN Harlie O. Putt, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to The Adlake Company, a corporation of Illinois 5 Claims.

The invention relates to lanterns especially adapted for use in railroad service; its object being to provide an improved circuit system and an improved circuit controlling switch.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of one form of the lantern;

Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the body portion of the lantern shown in Fig. 1, some of the parts being omitted;

Figs. 6 and '7 are views similar to Fig. 4, the switch elements being differently positioned;

Figs. 3 and 9 are views in perspective of different elements of the switch mechanism; and

Fig. 10 is an isometric view of the switch plate of the lantern.

The lantern which embodies this invention is especially adapted for the use of railway crossing watchmen for signaling street trafiic, and it comprises a body portion 20, which constitutes a casing for a battery 2|, and carries a pair of lamp sockets 22, 23, projecting from its side walls, and a lamp socket 24 projecting through its bottom. These sockets are of con ducting material, and are adapted for the use of incandescent bulbs, as 25, of the center and rim contact type.

A pair of battery terminals 28, 21, is associated with the casing, the latter terminal being arranged to ground one pole of the battery on the casing; the other terminal, 26, being insulated from the casing and connected directly with the central contact of the bulb carried by the depending socket 24, and being connectable, by means of a normally open switch, with the center contacts of the bulbs carried by the side sockets 22, 23. A switch mechanism is provided for connecting the socket 24 with the grounded battery terminal 21 and the central terminals of the lamps carried by the side sockets 22, 23, with the insulated battery terminal 26.

The side lamps are covered by lenses 28, 29, carried by lamp casings 30, 3|, attached to the body of the casing 20, and desirably having inner reflecting surfaces. One or both of the lenses 28, 29, are formed of red glass, for the service for which the lantern is intended, the bulb carried by the bottom socket 24 being preferably of uncolored giass and serving mainly for lighting the path of the user.

The side lamps being oppositely disposed, provide for the giving simultaneously of a danger signal to street traffic approaching from. opposite directions. The switch mechanism is arranged to provide for the closing of the circuit alternatively to the pair of side lamps, and to the bottom lamp. The latter may, therefore, be used, if desired, not only for illuminating the path of the watchman but also to give a clear signal to street traflic.

The terminal 2?; is connected directly with a block connector 32E, having a stem 33 projecting through and insulated from the bottom wall 34 of the casing 20. A spring-advanced plunger 35, projecting from the lower end of the block 32, engages the central contact terminal of the lower bulb 36. The socket 24 carrying this bulb is mounted in and insulated from a plate 31. carried by a metallic skirt 38, depending from the casing 20.

The central contacts of the bulbs carried by the side sockets 22. 23, seat against conductor locks 39, 46, mounted in blocks 4|, 42, projecting through and insulated from the side walls of the casing 20. The inner ends of the conductor blocks 33, 40, are connected by lines 43, 44, through a normally open switch 45, with the block 32. That is to say, the center contact of each side lamp has a connection which terminates in the part 45, which is normally spaced from the connector 32.

The switch mechanism for alternatively closing the circuit through the side and bottom lamps comprises a V-shaped element of spring metal carried by a slide plate 46, engaging the inner face of the skirt 38, and carrying a stud or button 4'! which projects through an arcuate slot in the skirt and secures the switch element to the slide plate. The arms 48, 49, of the V-shaped element project inwardly from the stud 41, and bear laterally against a pair of posts 50, 5|, and straddle, but are normally spaced from the inner end portion 52 of the socket 24. Shifting of the slide plate 46 to the left, as in Fig. 5, brings the arm 48 of the V-shaped switch element into sliding or wiping engagement with the side wall of the inner end 52 of the lamp socket 24, and thus closes the circuit, connecting the socket with the battery terminal 21. This Wiping engagement tends to keep the contacts clean.

The lines 43, 44, leading to the side lamps are attached to a terminal plate 53, secured to but insulated from the bottom wall 34 of the casing 26. A switch element, in the form of a leaf spring 54, is attached to the plate 53 and overlaps but is normally out of contact with the conductor block 32, as shown in Fig. 5. The arm 49 of the V-shaped switch element carries a piece of insulating material 55, which engages the socket 24 and projects upwardly alongside of the switch element 25, and urges it into engagement with the conductor block 32 when the stud t! is shifted to the right (as in Fig. 7), thereby closing the circuit through the side lamps.

For the purpose of holding the switch mecha nism in any of its three positions there is provided a spring plate 56, carried by the stud 41 and having instanding arms for engaging serpentine flanges 51, 58, projecting upwardly from the plate 31 and having three convolutions corresponding to the three positions of the switch mechanism.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention is highly efficient, simple of construction and operation, and durable. The invention may, however, be differently embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electric lantern, in combination, a battery casing having a plurality of incandescent bulbs mounted on its side walls and a depending incandescent bulb, a circuit having battery terminals and having one conductor of said circuit normally connected with one terminal of the side bulbs and with the opposite terminal of the depending bulb, a circuit control comprising a fiexible elastic V-shaped element and a slide element attached to the apex of the V-shaped element, fixed stops engageable by the arms of the last-named element, each of the arms of such element being effective to close the circuit to one of such lamp groups when flexed by the movement of the slide element.

2. In an electric lantern, in combination, a battery casing having a plurality of incandescent bulbs mounted on its side walls and a depending incandescent bulb, a circuit having battery terminals and having one conductor of said circuit normally connected with one terminal of the side bulbs and with the opposite terminal of the depending bulb, a normally open switch in the circuit of the side bulbs, a flexible elastic V-shaped switch and a switch control element, a slide plate attached to the apex of the V-shaped element, fixed stops limiting the outward movement of the arms of the last-named element and being located intermediate of their ends, one of the arms of such element having a non-conductive face to make contact with and close the named normally open switch element, and the other arm being effective to close the other branch circuit.

3. In an electric lantern, a battery casing having a plurality of incandescent lamps, a circuit having battery terminals, a permanently closed connection between one of said terminals and one contact of one of the lamps, a connector between the other of said battery terminals and one contact of the other lamp, a connection from the other contact of the first lamp terminating in normally spaced relation from said connector, and switch means comprising a manually operable button outside the casing, a pair of arms extending from said button within the casing, straddling said connector and the other contact of the second lamp and movable in one direction to cause one of the arms to move said normally spaced connection and connector into elec trical engagement and movable in another direction to connect the first named battery terminal with said other contact of the second lamp.

4. In an electric lantern, a battery casing having a plurality of incandescent lamps, a circuit having battery terminals one of which is grounded on the casing, means permanently grounding one contact of one of the lamps, a connector between the other of said battery terminals and one contact of the other lamp, a connection from the ungrounded terminal of the first lamp terminating in normally spaced relation from said connector, and switch means comprising a manually operable button outside the casing, a pair of arms extending from said button within the casing, straddling said connector and the other contact of the second lamp and movable in one direction to cause one of the arms to move said normally spaced connection and connector into electrical engagement and movable in another direction to ground said other contact of the second lamp.

5. In an electric lantern, a battery casing having a plurality of incandescent lamps, a circuit having battery terminals one of which is grounded on the casing, means permanently grounding one contact of one of the lamps, a connector between the other of said battery terminals and the center contact of the other lamp, a socket for said lamp having an exposed portion spaced below said connector, a connection from the ungrounded terminal of the first lamp terminating above said socket, at a side of said connector and normally spaced from said connector, and switch means grounded on the easing comprising a manually operable button outside the casing, a pair of arms extending from said button within the casing straddling said connector and socket, a non-conducting extension on one arm engageable with said connection to move the same into contact with said connector when the button is moved in one direction and the other arm being engageable with the socket to ground the same when the button is moved in another direction.

HARLIE O. PUTT. 

